Chief (Risk Analysis and Preparedness), P-5, Fixed Term Position, #00107500, Office of Emergency Operations, Outposted to Rome, Italy

Organizational Context

UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential. At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do for as long as we are needed. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.

Job Purpose

The Office of Emergency Programmes (EMOPS) leads UNICEF’s global humanitarian preparedness and response efforts, supporting the organization to anticipate, prioritize, and respond to increasingly complex, climate-driven and protracted crises. The Risk Analysis and Preparedness (RAPS) unit within EMOPS plays a central role in strengthening UNICEF’s ability to translate forward-looking risk analysis into preparedness, anticipatory action, and risk-informed programming across Headquarters, Regional Offices, and Country Offices. It supports the contextual risk management and preparedness of UNICEF country offices, complementing the analysis coming from regional and country offices, and globally contributes to positioning preparedness both internally and at the inter-agency level as an organizational priority and an enabler of more effective and timely humanitarian action.

Responsibilities

The Chief provides strategic leadership, high-level advisory support, and coordination to advance UNICEF’s global risk analysis, preparedness, anticipatory action, and disaster risk financing agenda. The position supports the Deputy Director in corporate decision-making and prioritization processes, ensuring that risks are systematically identified, analyzed, and translated into actionable recommendations for resource allocation, preparedness investment, and early action. The Chief, Risk Analysis and Preparedness also supervises the Risk and Preparedness Unit, a small team of professionals working on risk analysis and preparedness within EMOPS. This includes leading horizon scanning exercises and forward-looking humanitarian risk analysis for UNICEF, promoting the use of predictive analytics, AI-enabled monitoring, and geospatial analysis in risk analysis, and working closely with the Foresight team in the Office of Strategy and Evidence (OSE) to strengthen preparedness strategies.

Work Experience

A minimum of 10 years of professional experience in humanitarian affairs, emergency preparedness, risk analysis, or a related field, with at least 5 years at the international level.

Skills

Strategic leadership, Risk analysis, Humanitarian preparedness, Anticipatory action, Disaster risk financing, Foresight analysis, Predictive analytics, AI-enabled monitoring, Geospatial analysis, Coordination, Advisory support, Supervision

Explore related opportunities